Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith

PLOT:

The Galactic Republic is on the verge of collapse as a result of the Clone Wars, which have been waged between the Republic and the Separatists for three years. In a surprise move, General Grievous, commander of the Separatist Droid Army, kidnaps Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and attempts to escape. During a battle over the planet Coruscant, Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker lead a mission to rescue the Chancellor, who is being held captive on Grievous’s flagship. There they confront Count Dooku in a lightsaber duel; at the end of the duel, Anakin hesitantly kills Dooku at Palpatine’s urging. The Jedi free the Chancellor and attempt to escape the battle-torn flagship, but Grievous traps them inside and escapes. Anakin pilots the collapsing flagship to safety on Coruscant. There, Anakin reunites with his wife, Padmé Amidala, who reveals that she is pregnant. Anakin is overjoyed with this news until he begins having recurring nightmares of Padmé dying in childbirth, similar to the visions he had of his mother before she died. Anakin resolves to prevent these visions from coming true.

Palpatine, concerned about the Jedi’s motives, places Anakin on the Jedi Council to be his eyes and ears. Meanwhile, the Jedi Council has begun to suspect Palpatine of corruption and orders Anakin to spy on him, while also denying the young Jedi the rank of Jedi Master out of additional distrust of him. Under Palpatine’s influence, Anakin begins to grow distrustful of his fellow Jedi, and is intrigued when Palpatine mentions the power to prevent death, an ability only gained through the dark side of the Force. Obi-Wan, meanwhile, is sent to the planet Utapau where he engages and kills General Grievous. Back on Coruscant, Palpatine reveals himself to Anakin as the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, who has been controlling both sides of the war. Anakin reports Palpatine’s treachery to Jedi Master Mace Windu, who engages and subdues the Sith Lord in a lightsaber duel. Believing that Sidious is his only hope to save Padmé, Anakin intervenes and literally disarms Windu before he can execute Sidious, allowing the Sith Lord to kill the Jedi Master. Palpatine takes advantage of Anakin’s emotionally drained mind to submit him to the dark side and becomes Sidious’s new apprentice, Darth Vader.

Darth Sidious initiates a pre-programmed directive within all clone troopers to kill their Jedi commanders, while Vader kills all the Jedi within the Jedi Temple, Knights, Padawans, and Younglings alike. Obi-Wan and Yoda survive the extermination, and meet up with Senator Bail Organa, who brings them to the Jedi Temple while Palpatine reorganizes the Republic into the Galactic Empire, with himself as Emperor. Vader, meanwhile, heads to the volcanic planet of Mustafar, where he slaughters the remaining Separatist leaders. Within the Jedi Temple, Obi-Wan witnesses security footage of Anakin’s massacre as Darth Vader. Yoda tells Obi-Wan that they must kill the Sith Lords if they are to restore peace. Obi-Wan begs Yoda to send him to kill the Emperor, but Yoda tells him to confront and kill Vader; Obi-Wan isn’t strong enough to face the Emperor and he must accept that the friend he had known and loved as a brother is gone forever.

Obi-Wan meets with Padmé, who refuses to believe that her husband has fallen to the dark side. She travels to Mustafar to be with him, unaware that Obi-Wan has secretly stowed aboard. Once she confronts Vader, however, she realizes that Obi-Wan was telling the truth. Spotting Obi-Wan within her ship, Vader accuses Padmé of betraying him and uses the Force to strangle her into unconsciousness. Obi-Wan and Vader engage in an epic lightsaber duel across the volcanic facility and over a river of lava. Finally, Obi-Wan gains the upper hand and, acting on a critical misjudgment from his former friend, swiftly dismembers Vader. Vader slides down a bank of volcanic ash and bursts into flames, while Obi-Wan picks up Anakin’s lightsaber and leaves him to die. Obi-Wan escorts the injured Padmé to the asteroid Polis Massa where he regroups with Senator Organa and Yoda, the latter of whom has gone into self-imposed exile after dueling Darth Sidious to a stalemate. Meanwhile, Sidious finds his maimed apprentice and takes him back to Coruscant to revive him.

Padmé gives birth to twins, a boy named Luke and a girl named Leia, and dies, but not before insisting to Obi-Wan that there is still good in Anakin. Meanwhile, Sidious has Darth Vader rebuilt in black cybernetic body armor to keep him alive. When Vader asks for Padmé, Sidious tells him that she died as a result of Vader’s anger. This revelation breaks what remains of Anakin’s spirit, and he screams in torment. He is last seen at Sidious’ side, overseeing the construction of the Death Star. With Anakin’s children the last hope for the galaxy, Obi-Wan, Yoda and Organa agree that they should be hidden and separate from one another. Leia is taken to Alderaan to be raised by Organa, while Obi-Wan takes Luke to Tatooine to live with his uncle Owen and aunt Beru.

REVIEW:

I really don’t think there has been a movie charged with having to accomplish as much as this one. It had the unenviable task of filling in the time span between Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars. During this time, it had to be explained how Yoda and Obi-Wan ended up being the only remaining Jedi and how they ended up in exile, how did Anakin become Darth Vader, how did Palpatine age so much and become the Emperor, how did the Death Star get built, and a multitude of other questions. Many of these questions are answered, but the last 20 minutes or so seem rushed into trying to tie up all the loose ends that weren’t answered already.

On more than one occasion it has been said that Hayden Christiansen has ruined the saga with his bad acting. I won’t go so far as to say that, but he is very robotic and unfeeling in his delivery. Having said that, it is my belief that George Lucas picked him as Anakin for this very film. The lack of humanity is perfect for Anakin’s turn to the dark side.

Ewan McGregor brilliantly portrays the conflict Obi-Wan feels as he must face his pupil and possibly kill him. His empassioned exlamations after chopping off his limbs says it all. I think the original Obi-Wan Kenobi, Alec Guiness would be proud of McGregor’s turn with this character.

Natalie Portman doesn’t really have much to do in this picture except walk around hugging Anakin everytime he walks into the room. That is, until he chokes her into unconsciousness before the climactic battle with Obi-Wan. As the film draws to a close, though, she gives birth to Luke and Leia, and shows off her real talent for emotional depth as she portrays the pain of Anakin breaking her heart and giving birth to twins.

Samuel L. Jackson had it written into his contract that when Mace Windu died, he wouldn’t die as “a bitch”. From what I’ve read and know, Windu is quite the master swordsman, so his final battle with Senator Palpatine was no surprise, though I don’t think being shot of a window by Palpatine playing ‘possum as a ploy to get Anakin to defend him was how he wanted to die.

I think of all 6 Star Warsfilms, this is the one that spends the least amount of time in space. That doesn’t take away from the great battles that are had, though. Yoda vs. the Emperor, Obi-Wan vs. General Grievous. Mace Windu vs. Senator Palpatine, and of course Obi- Wan vs. Anakin.

While many characters make their last appearance here (Count Dooku, Viceroy Gunnry, Padme), we are introduced to some new ones (General Grievous, Darth Vader, the Wookies), some that will be very prominent as the saga moves forward.

As the film concludes, we see Anakin getting fitted with his Darth Vader apparatus, as Padme is giving birth. As the helmet goes down and locks into lace, you can hear the strains of the “Imperial March” and then with a lock and a hiss, there is a moment of silence followed by Vader’s unforgettable breathing pattern. I tell you this gives me chills every time, especially when I saw it in theaters. Those same chills came to me when James Earl Jones took his rightful place as Vader’s voice.

As far as the prequels go, this and Clones battle for the honor of being my favorite. I wish the ending wasn’t so rushed and crammed. To me, it makes it seem as though they just wanted to get everything done and out of the way in those few minutes. The lightsaber duels are epic, especially the climactic battle between Obi-Wan and Anakin. I would have liked to have gotten a bit more Padme, but that’s just my personal preference.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

PLOT:

Ten years have passed since the invasion of Naboo, and the Galactic Republic is experiencing a crisis. Former Jedi Master Count Dooku has organized a Separatist movement against the Republic, making it difficult for the Jedi to maintain the peace. The Republic contemplates creating an army to assist the Jedi, prompting Senator Padmé Amidala, former Queen of Naboo, to return to Coruscant to vote on the matter. Upon her arrival, she narrowly escapes an assassination attempt. Shaken by the close call, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine assigns Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker to protect her. That night, another attempt on the Senator’s life is made, though Obi-Wan and Anakin foil the plot and subdue the assassin, who is permanently silenced by her mysterious employer when the Jedi force her to reveal vital information. Returning to the Jedi Temple, Obi-Wan is assigned to investigate the identity of the assassin’s killer, while Anakin is assigned to escort and accompany Senator Amidala to her homeplanet of Naboo. Anakin, who has grown infatuated with Padmé, relishes the opportunity to spend time with her, though Padmé resists her feelings toward him, as that would go against the moral codes of their careers as a Jedi and a senator, respectively.

Obi-Wan’s investigation leads him to the remote planet of Kamino, where he discovers that an army of clones is being secretly produced for the Republic. Obi-Wan deduces the clones’ template, a bounty hunter named Jango Fett, is the killer he’s looking for. After unsuccessfully trying to capture him, Obi-Wan tracks him down to the planet Geonosis. Anakin, meanwhile, has grown troubled with recurring nightmares about his mother, whom he had left behind on Tatooine when he set off to become a Jedi, in grave danger. In defiance of his orders to remain on Naboo, Anakin convinces Padmé to accompany him to Tatooine to save his mother. There he finds her abducted and beaten by Tusken Raiders, and she dies in his arms. Anakin succumbs to his grief and rage, slaughtering the entire Tusken community.

On Geonosis, Obi-Wan learns it was Nute Gunray who authorized the assassination attempt on Senator Amidala, and that the Separatists are in development of a new droid army. Obi-Wan relays this information via hologram to Anakin, who transmits it to the Jedi Council, though Obi-Wan is captured mid-transmission. While Anakin and Padmé head to Geonosis to rescue Obi-Wan, Chancellor Palpatine is granted emergency powers to organize the clone army and send them into battle. Shortly after arriving on Geonosis, Anakin and Padmé are captured and sentenced to death along with Obi-Wan. Preparing for what could be their final moments, Padmé finally reveals her feelings for Anakin. The three are pitted against savage beasts, though they manage to hold their own before Jedi Master Mace Windu arrives with a team of Jedi to assist them, engaging and decapitating Jango Fett in the brief battle. After a heated struggle, Jedi Master Yoda arrives with the clone army and collects the surviving Jedi.

As a large battle erupts between the Republic’s clone army and the Separatist’s droid forces, Count Dooku attempts to escape. Obi-Wan and Anakin corner him in a hangar and engage him in a lightsaber duel, but he outmatches and defeats them with his mastery of the dark side of the Force, cutting off Anakin’s arm in the process. Yoda engages Dooku in a fierce duel, though Dooku manages to escape once more, taking the plans for a new “ultimate weapon” to his Sith master on Coruscant. The Jedi are now uncertain of what will become of the Republic, now that the Clone Wars have begun. Chancellor Palpatine oversees the launching of massive clone trooper forces. Meanwhile, Anakin, with a new cybernetic arm, secretly marries Padmé on Naboo, with C-3PO and R2-D2 as witnesses.

REVIEW:

I’ve noticed that a trend in trilogies is for the second film to be the best of the 3. Attack of the Clonesfits that stereotype perfectly.

As good as Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menacewas, it was rooted more in drama, rather than action. Having said that, critics of the first film said there was no romance. To this day, I don’t understand why there just needed to be a romance, but they got their wish with this film as Anakin and Padme share a forbidden love. Aside from the love story, we get lots more action and more wondrous, vintage Star Wars creatures and locales, such as Kamino, a watery planet inhabited by tall, white creatures with very long necks (and 6 pack abs).

Critics have panned the acting in this film, especially Hayden Christensen, who plays Anakin. I find it hard to disagree with them. Christensen, though, is like Keanu Reeves and Ryan Philippe, devoid of emotion and depth. Having seen Hayden in other works outside of these films, I know that it his talent that is lacking, and not the character or script. Still, he doesn’t totally suck in the role. After all, Anakin is slowly but surely turning to the dark side. The one spark of emotion we get is in his most emotional scene following the death of his mother, and even that is barely a tilt one way or another from normal.

Natalie Portman returns as Padme Amidala, who is now a Senator, rather than queen. It must be some kind of weird custom on Naboo for the women to have those weird hairdos, because her hair, although tones down from the first film, is still constantly being mutated into weird shapes. She obviously has some real acting talent, and as the film goes on, we start to feel as if she’s human and not a droid like R2-D2 and C-3PO. It seems as if she was uncomfortable in the early scenes, but as she gained confidence with her character, her acting gets better. This could also have something to do, or not, with her wardrobe that shows her bare midriff.

Ewan McGregor comes into this film with a full beard as an attempt to put the fans more in the mind of Alec Guiness’ Obi-Wan. I’d say this was a mistake, but it actually makes him look older and more believable than he was in the first film.

The highlight of the film for me, has to be the lightsaber/force battle between Yoda and Count Dooku. Longtime Star Wars fans know Yoda best as a feeble old muppet creature who is very wise. This battle with Dooku, albeit short, is impressive, because we really get to see that he can use the skills he teaches young Jedi. Also, we get to see the other Jedi knights in action, including Mace Windu.

Yoda has a line in Return of the Jedi, I believe that says, “action, adventure…a jedi craves not these things.” Well, if you’re watching this film, then you crave action, adventure, a little romance and a little comedy. That’s a nice little mixture, isn’t it? No wonder this is the best of the prequel trilogy.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

PLOT:

The Galactic Republic is in a period of decline, with its bureaucracy bloated and corrupt and its economy deteriorating. In response to a taxation on trade routes, the greedy Trade Federation organizes a blockade of battleships around the small planet of . Hoping to resolve the matter, the Supreme Chancellor dispatches two Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, to negotiate with Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray. Unbeknownst to them, the Trade Federation is in league with the evil Sith Lord Darth Sidious, who orders them to invade Naboo with an army of battle droids and kill the Jedi. Narrowly evading death, the two Jedi stow aboard landing crafts and escape to Naboo. There Qui-Gon saves local Gungan outcast Jar Jar Binks from being trampled by a Federation tank. Indebted to the Jedi, Jar Jar leads them to the underwater Gungan city of Otoh Gunga, where the Jedi unsuccessfully attempt to persuade the Gungans to help the people of Naboo, though they are able to obtain a transport to reach the city of Theed on the surface.

Queen Amidala of the Naboo is captured by the Federation army, but is rescued by the Jedi. The Queen escapes Naboo with the Jedi on her personal starship, which is damaged on its way through the blockade surrounding the planet, forcing them to land on the nearby desert planet Tatooine for repairs. Qui-Gon ventures into the settlement of Mos Espa with Padmé, one of the Queen’s handmaidens, to a junk shop to purchase a new hyperdrive generator. There they meet a young slave child named Anakin Skywalker, who takes an immediate liking to Padmé. After spending time with Anakin and his mother, Qui-Gon senses a strong presence of the Force within him, and suspects he may be the Chosen One who will bring balance to the Force. Qui-Gon makes a bet with Anakin’s owner to enter him in a Podrace, and that if Anakin wins, he will be freed. With Qui-Gon’s guidance, Anakin manages to win the race and joins the group to be trained as a Jedi, but he is forced to leave his mother, who Qui-Gon was unable to release, behind. Before they leave, they are attacked by Darth Sidious’ apprentice, Darth Maul, who was dispatched to capture the Queen. After a brief fight, they manage to escape.

The Jedi escort the Queen to the Republic capital planet of Coruscant so she can plead her people’s case to the Galactic Senate. Qui-Gon, meanwhile, attempts to persuade the Jedi Council to train Anakin as a Jedi, but they refuse as Anakin is too old and has too many attachments, which would risk him turning to the dark side of the Force. Within the Senate, Senator Palpatine of Naboo convinces the Queen to move for a vote of no confidence in the Supreme Chancellor so they can vote for a new, stronger Chancellor who will help end the conflict. However, she grows frustrated with the lack of action by the Senate, ultimately deciding to return to Naboo with the Jedi.

Back on Naboo, Padmé reveals herself to be Queen Amidala, the other “Queen” having been a decoy for her own protection. The Queen convinces the Gungan people to form an alliance against the Trade Federation. While the inept Jar Jar leads his people in a battle against the droid army and the Queen moves in to capture Viceroy Gunray in Theed, Anakin commandeers a vacant starfighter and joins the dogfight against the Federation droid control ship in space, using his skills with the Force to destroy it, which deactivates the entire droid army. The Jedi, meanwhile, encounter Darth Maul once more and engage him in a two-on-one lightsaber duel. Qui-Gon is mortally wounded in the battle, but Obi-Wan manages to kill the Sith apprentice. With his dying breaths, Qui-Gon tells Obi-Wan to train Anakin. Senator Palpatine is elected as the new Supreme Chancellor, Viceroy Gunray is sent to stand trial for his crimes, and the Jedi Council reluctantly allows Anakin to become Obi-Wan’s apprentice. At a grand ceremony, Queen Amidala presents a gift of appreciation and friendship to the Gungan people.

REVIEW:

I’m a die hard fan of the Star Wars franchise, so you knew I was going to eventually get around to reviewing these films, right?

There are some out there that say this is the worst film of the franchise. I’m not sure if I agree or disagree. If I were to agree, it wouldn’t be to say that it sucks, but rather to say that of the 6 films it is the weakest. With that in mind, I don’t subscribe to what critics have said and continue to say about these prequels.

There are some inconsistencies between this and statements made in the “holy trilogy”, but I’m not gonna throw myself into a tizzy about those.

From the moment you hear the first chord, you know that John Williams’ timeless theme has been retained, but when the climactic fight scene comes near the film’s end, Williams outdid himself with “Duel of the Fates”. His music really captures the audiences imagination as well as provides the perfect atmosphere and excitement for such a climactic moment in the film. Not to be undersold, his score for the rest of the film is typical John Williams, brilliant, to say the least.

As with every other film in the franchise, there is lots of action mixed with scenes of dialogue here and there. The excitement is nonstop and fits perfectly wit the other films. Now that I’ve said that, I must mention the CGI overkill.

I don’t hide my distaste for CGI. I believe it should only be used when necessary, such as giant robots transforming, natural disasters, etc. The aliens, spaceships, and podracers were all obviously CGI. As much as I want to bash them for this, I have to remember that this is a George Lucas film, and his company is one of the companies that really knows how to use CGI. Still, I think they could have done a better job of hiding the CGI-ness of it.

The whole purpose of these prequels was to let us in on Anakin’s rise to jedi status and his eventual turn to the dark side which led to him becoming Darth Vader. I really love how this film handles his youth and doesn’t try to rush into anything. They show Anakin as a young boy, and with the exception of Vader’s trademark breathing after the credits roll, there is no mention of what we already know about his future, unless you count Yoda’s prophecy.

It is good to see some major characters in younger forms, such as the beginning stages of C-3PO, R2-D2, Jabba the Hutt, Emperor (Senator at this time) Palpatine, and Yoda. The acting is top notch. I read a credible critics review that said this film was ”…all action and lacked romance.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t go into an action film expecting to see a love story, but it has everything else you would expect from a sci-fi/action film. Don’t listen to what the critics and obsessive Star Wars fans say, this is a good picture. See if you can spot Kierra Knightley.

4 out of 5 stars

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

 

A padawan should not have a padawan! That was made clear in Episode I, and in Episodes II and III Anakin is still a padawan, yet for this chapter, he’s a Jedi Master? WTF?!?

PLOT:

The film begins with a narrator explaining the state of the war. An octopus-like craft heads for Tatooine to capture Jabba the Hutt’s son Rotta as part of a plan to make the Hutts join the Clone Wars. Meanwhile, a fierce battle is taking place on the crystalline planet of Christophsis against the Republic’s very limited clone army and the Banking Clan forces.

With the help of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Captain Rex and Commander Cody, the clones steadily advance on the Separatists’ forces, gaining the Republic an early victory. It doesn’t last long, though, as the Banking Clan soon returns for more bloodshed, and with no communications or the ability to fly in reinforcements, the fate of the few remaining clone soldiers are in the hands of Obi-Wan and Anakin. General Loathsomsoon arrives and ordered a retreat under the city’s Deflector Shield. A shuttle soon comes with an important delivery; thinking it’s reinforcements, the Jedi go to investigate – only to find a young Padawan named Ahsoka Tano, who insists that she has been sent by Master Yoda to serve as Anakin’s Padawan. The battle soon commences yet again, and Anakin and Ahsoka succeed in taking down the deflector shield, using all their stealth, cunning and ability to improvise.

Soon after the third and final victory for the Republic on Christophsis, Master Yoda arrives with the urgent message that a mysterious group of renegades has kidnapped Jabba’s son, and it’s up to Anakin, Ahsoka, Rex and the clones to rescue him and bring him back home safely. Obi-Wan flies to Tatooine to assure Jabba that Rotta will be returned safely and to secure a promise by the Hutts to use their trading routes for safe passage within the Outer Rim.

After a briefing in a Republic flagship, Anakin’s forces descend through the clouds of the jungle planet of Teth heading for one of the many natural stone pillars which litter the landscape. Under heavy fire, Anakin, Ahsoka and Rex storm the monastery atop the pillar and find Rotta – only to be caught in an elaborate trap: Count Dooku has staged the kidnapping himself in order to blacklist the Jedi among the Hutts. First he has the Jedi retrieve the young Hutt to secure fake evidence, then Asajj Ventress, as the overseer of the operation, is charged with either retrieving or killing the young Huttling.

Whilst quarreling all the while about the proper procedure, yet slowly gaining respect of one another, Anakin and Ahsokamanage to escape the trap along with R2-D2 and hijack a derelict transport, which they use to travel to Tatooine. Obi-Wan, alerted by Anakin, arrives just in time to relieve Rex and the rest of his forces and engages Ventress in combat; the latter is beaten and narrowly escapes capture.

In the mean time, Senator Amidala learns of Anakin’s mission. Worried about him, she decides to contact Jabba’s uncle, Ziro the Hutt, who lives in a shady part of Coruscant. The Huttstrangely refuses to cooperate, and soon Padme finds out why: Zirohas actually conspired with Dooku to engineer the downfall of his nephew to seize the power over the Hutt clans for himself. Padme is discovered and detained, but a chance call by C-3PO enables her to summon help, and Ziro is soon arrested.

Upon their arrival on Tatooine, Anakin and Ahsoka are attacked by Magnaguarddroids and shot down. Faced with a long way across desert sands and relentless opponents, Anakin devises a ruse. When Dooku corners Anakin, the pack he is carrying is revealed to contain merely a decoy; Ahsokaand R2 travel with Rotta to Jabba’s palace unmolested. But just as they near it, Ahsoka is ambushed by three Magnaguards, whom she narrowly defeats. But as Anakin and Ahsokaenter the palace one after another, they are threatened with execution by Jabba’s men even though Rotta is safely returned. Padme calls just in time to convince Jabba of his uncle’s duplicity, and Anakin and Ahsoka are triumphantly retrieved by Obi-Wan and Yoda.

REVIEW:

Let me preface this review by saying that I am a Star Wars freak and am very well versed in most things regarding said universe. Taking that into consideration, I will give a final rating for those non-Satr Wars freaks.

So, let’s start with the pros. I actually like the wooden look. Reminds me of Rudolph the Red Nosed Regndeer and Frosty from back in the day. This is actually a fun movie. The droids have some of the best lines, and in my opinion, steal the show. Granted, this is after anakin goes psycho and wipes out a whole mess of TuskenRaiders for killing his mother, they only graze that topic (without even mentioning it), and as with Episode I, we get Anakin without the dark cloud hanging over him (except the one we all know is already there). It’s  good to see the clones have their own personalities. No real time is devoted to them in Episodes II & III. There are no real character changes in terms of personality, except for Anakin taking a more commanding role, which may be directly correlated to the forthcoming cartoon (which will be addressed later).

Now, the cons…I got the feeling watching this, that George Lucas is just trying to milk the Star Wars franchise for all its worth. This seemed more like a TV movie or direct to DVD film, rather than a feature length film.  Ahsoka is just another in a long line of annoying third wheel sidekicks that appear out of nowhere just to make someone happy. I would have rather Jar Jar have become a padwan, he’d have been less annoying! We could have seen more of Mace Windu, especially since they went to all the trouble of actually getting Samuel L. Jackson to reprise his role.

So, this is supposed to be a launching pad for the upcoming cartoon series. I have two issues with that. first, there has already been a cartoon series based on the Clone Wars, why bring us another one? Second, it was made clear after Episode III, that there would be no more Star Wars films, but I can’t help but wonder what this would have looked like in live action. On top of that, enough of this Anakin back story, personally, I would like to go back and get to know some of the other Jedi better, or even better, how about giving Han some more screen time?

As a Star Wars fan watching this, I was torn. I wanted  to love this. The fact that when I first heard about it and didn’t get exited about it should have been a red flag. Then when it started and there was no 20th century Fox fanfare, just made it feel even more out of place. Then the final straws. The music was like some sort of weird remixed version of John Williams brilliant scoring and rather than the traditional scrolling intro, we get a narrator telling us what happened. All these kept me from truly enjoying this film.

Do I recommend it? Yes, but if you’re a Star Wars fan, beware. If you’re not, chances are you’ll enjoy it more than those of us that are.

2 1/2 out of 5 stars (Star Wars fan rating)

4 out of 5 stars (non Star Wars fan rating)